First published back in 2009, Guy N Smith’s standalone ‘Crabs’ Armada’ chapbook was released by Ghostwriter Publications.
The story was later included within the original ‘Crabs: Unleashed – The Collection’ (2009) chapbook, but not in the ‘Crabs: Unleashed’ (2009) reprint, and then later reprinted within the ‘Crabs Omnibus’ (2015) collection.
DLS Synopsis:
Jack Boswell didn’t want to do the dive. However, someone had to go down and clear up the mystery that lay hidden on the seabed. No one would have believed it. But the truth of the matter was there, under the water. It appeared somehow the four-hundred-year-old shipwreck of the Rata Encoronada had travelled almost a mile along the bed of the Giant’s Causeway towards the shore.
The idea that the remains of the vast galleon had moved of its own accord such a distance was preposterous. But somehow it had happened. So they’d sent Boswell down until the depths of the sea to find out how the shipwreck had moved over a mile on its own.
Although when he reached the crumbling galleon he realised the dive might not have been such a waste of time. Amongst the dirt and rotting remains of the vast ship, small artefacts, no doubt from the time of Thomas de Granvela and Don Alonso de Leiva, had been uncovered. Treasures that would be worth a small fortune.
It was enough to get him exploring the lower levels of the shipwreck. And as he did so he noticed two glowing orbs in the darkened shadows below deck. At first he thought they were rubies or some other such treasure. But then he saw the burning hatred within them. Those were no rubies. They were eyes…
DLS Review:
Here we have a textbook Guy N Smith short Crabs story crammed with escalating suspense. Yeah, we know what’s going to happen here. We’ve got a diver going down into the depths of the sea to investigate a four-hundred-year-old shipwreck that appears to have shifted a mile along the seabed. Guess who’s responsible for moving the decaying galleon? Yep…our crustacean friends.
The outcome’s inevitable. From the outset we know what’s going to happen. As such, the success of the story pretty much depends upon the escalation of the suspense and then the eventual bloodbath that’s sure to follow. Luckily these are two areas in which Smith is a veritable master.
It’s only short, but the suspense that Smith builds as we edge towards the inevitable horror is second to none. By the time the crabs’ eyes are spotted, you’re pretty much clawing at the pages. And then the diver’s desperate attempts at escaping the crabs’ reach is nothing short of classic Guy N Smith. Frantic, desperate and utterly futile. You’ve just got to love it!
The chapbook runs for a total of 11 pages.
© DLS Reviews
Other ‘Crabs’ instalments:
- ‘Night Of The Crabs’ (1976)
- ‘Killer Crabs’ (1978)
- ‘The Origin Of The Crabs’ (1979)
- ‘Crabs On The Rampage’ (1981)
- ‘Crabs’ Moon’ (1984)
- ‘Crabs: The Human Sacrifice’ (1988)
- ‘Crabs Fury’ (1998) [Graphic Novel]
- ‘Crabs: Unleashed - The Collection’ (2009) [Chapbook]
- ‘Crabs: Unleashed’ (2009) [Chapbook]
- ‘Crustacean Vengeance’ (2009) [Chapbook]
- ‘The Decoy’ (2009) [Chapbook]
- ‘Crabs’ Armada’ (2009) [Chapbook]
- ‘Killer Crabs: The Return’ (2012)
- ‘Crabs Omnibus’ (2015)
- ‘The Charnel Caves’ (2019)
